Arizona Diamondbacks

People tend to look at how Arizona’s season has gone and notice the big lead that it once had is all but gone and that it failed to put some serious distance between it and the competition while the Dodgers struggled.

That all comes off as negative when there’s an equally positive way to look at the first 60-something games. For one, the Diamondbacks have managed first-place despite a slew of injuries and little production out of Paul Goldschmidt.

The injuries are grim. Taijuan Walker is out for the season and neither Steven Souza nor AJ Pollock will be back any time soon.

But Goldy is starting to come around. He hit two homers on Friday in Arizona’s series opening win. He’s got three homers this month and four in his last eight games.

Like a stock that stays strong in a recession, paying dividends, Goldy’s OBP was acceptable while he was scuffling. Now it’s up to .350 and rising. It’s the slugging that had lagged way behind and now that’s returning to normalcy too.

Opponents would be smart to start pitching around him if he’s going to get hot without much protection around him. Jake Lamb is back, however, and he homered on Friday, too.

Colorado Rockies

Kyle Freeland was good as a rookie last season and he’s having an even better season as a sophomore in 2018.

Freeland’s numbers are better across the board. His ERA+ is up from 123 to 133; his WHIP is down from just under 1.50 to just under 1.25 now; he’s walking fewer guys, giving up less hits and striking out more batters.

He’s also doing an even better job of getting deep into games. He’s averaging nearly exactly six innings per start. Nothing he does is fancy so he doesn’t get a lot of fanfare at this point in his career but if he continues to simply put up numbers like these, it won’t be long until he’s recognized as one of the most dependable starters in the league.

We respect your privacy and will never sell or give away your info to any third party. Please make sure you add our email to your “safe” email sender list. All email you receive will be from CappersPicks.com (Via FeedBurner or Constant Contact) & you can opt out anytime!